Fading Memories
by YamiSerenity
Summary: One-shot. To keep Naraku from using it, Inuyasha used the completed Shikon no tama to become human. Now the final battle with the evil hanyou is over, and the gang is on its way back to the village. But something is wrong...


Hey everyone! This fic is based off of some fanart I admire like no other, which can be found at the following addy (minus the spaces): http:// druihd. staze. org/ memories. html  
  
Inuyasha: *is nowhere to be seen*  
  
*doesn't seem to care, just goes on* And after you read my crappy little one-shot and study the picture, go see the rest of Druihd's stuff! I swear, it does NOT look like fanart!! Go and look, you'll see what I mean!! *sniff* But make sure you come back... lol  
  
Miroku: *blink* Um... Inuyasha appears to be absent.  
  
*smirk* Oh, that's ok. I know where he is. We'll visit him after the fic. Anyway, this is basically an embellished version of Druihd's summary of the fanart, which you can find on the same page. *glances at Miroku* Is "embellish" the word I want there?  
  
Miroku: You're asking me??  
  
Point. *shrugs* Just do the disclaimer, then.  
  
Miroku: Lucy does not own Inuyasha chars, events, places, and especially not the fanart that this one-shot was written after. So no sueing! If Lucy owned us, she wouldn't be posting this on FANFICTION.net. Think about it. *tosses his hands in the air* What's the point of a disclaimer if you're on FANFICTION.net!?!  
  
The point is, some people are stupid and will flame you if you don't put one up. *nods* Although they really should know what they type into their little typey-bar...  
  
Kouga: ...typey-bar...?  
  
Enjoy the fic! ^ ^  
  
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~thoughts~  
  
Now that they weren't being hunted by every youkai in existence, the road back to Kaede's village didn't seem quite as perilous. Indeed, a group of companions was on its way back to said village: one modern-day schoolgirl, one kitsune youkai, one lecherous houshi, one youkai exterminator... and of course, one hanyou-turned-human.  
  
The party was silent as they went along, Kagome on her bike with Shippo, Miroku and Sango riding Kirara, and Inuyasha behind them all. They had recently been victorious against their long-time enemy, the hanyou Naraku, in which he had been utterly destroyed. But something else was missing that had been with them long, and that something was fragments of a certain Shikon no tama.  
  
Forever, it seemed to Kagome, she had been on a quest to recover the shards of that broken jewel in Feudal Japan. She had gained lots of friends and even more enemies, and now... it was all over. The jewel had been completed, and now it ceased to exist. Inuyasha had used it in the last battle with Naraku. Unable to think of any other way to keep it out of Naraku's clutches, he had wished to become a human. That wish had been granted.  
  
Now the former hanyou walked a little ways behind the rest of his friends quietly, as if deep in thought. Kagome wondered if he was still getting used to being a human all the time. She decided to ask him later when they stopped to rest. At the moment, she herself had much on her mind. She had to decide what she was going now that her quest was over. ~I suppose I have to go home~ she resolved in the end. Ah, home. Sweet, modern Japan. She could almost hear the rush of cars driving by, could all but smell the exhaust.  
  
~No, wait.~ Her bike slid to a stop without a sound, kicking up dust from the road. She really COULD hear the cars. The pungent scent of exhaust really WAS tickling her nose. ~What's going on??~ she thought frantically, covering her ears. Her eyes were large. ~There ARE no cars here!!~  
  
"Kagome?" Inuyasha asked, seeing her stop suddenly. She barely heard him. Looking up at the sky, she heard an airplane go by. Her hands quivered. ~This isn't right! What in the world is happening!?~ "Kagome, what's wrong?" Inuyasha repeated, reaching her side and pulling her hands away from her head gently. He detected fright in her voice, and if he still had his powerful sense of smell, he knew he would be able to smell it, too. When he received no reply, he spoke more forcefully. "Tell me what's wrong!"  
  
Kagome refused to say anything. She couldn't even meet his eyes. Instead, she gazed straight ahead, at his chest. ~Oh...~ She reached out with one trembling hand and touched the rosary around Inuyasha's neck. ~He doesn't need this anymore,~ she told herself, ~he's completely trustworthy now...~ With tears in her eyes, she took hold of the beads and slowly pulled them over his head. Then she held them in one outstretched hand. Inuyasha took them, confused, and Kagome mounted her bike again.  
  
"We'd better catch up to the others, Inuyasha!" she said, showing him a fake smile and kicking off. Turning to face the road before her, the smile faded to be replaced by a troubled frown. ~I can't tell him~ she thought. ~I was probably just imagined it, anyway. I bet I'll forget about the whole thing by tonight.~  
  
Inuyasha continued to stand there, watching Kagome as she rode off. The hand clutching the rosary clenched. "Why won't she tell me...?" he murmured.  
  
____________  
  
Late that night, the weary group made its way into the village, where they were quickly ushered into Kaede's hut by the elderly miko herself. Once inside, they told her about their fight with Naraku, and of Inuyasha's wish to be human.  
  
To be more precise, Miroku and Sango told her, with Shippo adding in a few exclamations every now and then. Kagome sat silently by the fire, while Inuyasha leaned against the wall by the door broodingly. When the story was finished, Kaede nodded to herself.  
  
"So the Shikon no tama is gone. Good," she said. "Ye have all done very well, better than I'd hoped." She smiled, then looked to Kagome. "What do ye plan on doing now, child? Now that ye have successfully protected the jewel?"  
  
That's what she said. But all Kagome heard was, "What do... child? Now... successfully... jewel?" Sounds were coming and going like a bad radio station. She shook her head, straining to hear what was being said over the noises of the modern world she kept hearing instead. A bus' brakes squealing. A train whistle. A car horn.  
  
To her surprise, sound came rushing back moments later. Kaede, who had taken the head shake for the same as a shrug, had gone on to speak again to the other two humans. Kagome glanced at Inuyasha. He was staring at her, a terribly worried look in his eyes. No one else seemed to notice that Kagome was hearing things. He looked like he wanted to same something, but he didn't.  
  
"Kagome!"  
  
She blinked. "Yes?"  
  
"Kaede asked if we wanted to go to sleep now," Sango told her, "didn't you hear her?"  
  
"Oh! No, sorry. I didn't. I'd like to go to sleep, yeah."  
  
As Kaede unrolled futons for them all, Sango asked her friend, "Are you alright? You kind of spaced out for a minute. Is anything on your mind?"  
  
"What? Oh, no." Kagome put on another fake smile. "I'm fine, don't worry about me!" She crawled into the futon quickly. She hated lying to Sango, but she wasn't sure what was going herself. She wasn't about to let her friends worry over her. Hopefully everything would make more sense in the morning. She snuggled into the blanket and waited for sleep.  
  
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Before Kagome opened her eyes in the morning, she listened for a moment to the world around her. Many birds sang out to tell the world that the sun had risen. Villagers shouted to each other as they began the day's work. There was no trace of exhaust in the air, nor of any noise that you would hear in the modern world. Kagome gave a relieved sigh. Maybe things were back to normal now!  
  
Climbing out of bed, she saw she was the only one left in the hut. She gave a mighty stretch, then got some clothes out of her bag to change into. Once that was done, she walked into the crisp morning air, smiling. She was in a good mood. Naraku was gone forever, and she wasn't hearing things she shouldn't. Life was good.  
  
"Ah, ohayougozaimasu, Kagome!" Miroku called, waving. He, Sango, and Inuyasha stood near the center of the village. The schoolgirl went over to join them.  
  
"Ohayougozaimasu," she started to reply, but before she could finish, they disappeared. In fact, the village and everything in it, disappeared before her eyes. As they faded away, they were replaced by a playground.  
  
Kagome gasped and fell backwards. Her eyes were bigger than she ever remembered them being. She watched as little kids played happily on the equipment. A few were swinging. Laughter was abundant, and in the few moments it ceased, she could hear the drone of cars behind her.  
  
"What's going on!?" Kagome whispered, then screamed it as loud as she could. "WHAT'S GOING ON!?!"  
  
Without warning, the village snapped back into existence, but it was shaking wildly. Kagome, unable to stop herself, screamed again. She felt something clutching her arms. She struggled against it desperately, but it just clung tighter. Finally, exhausted, she gave up. The village stopped shaking. Someone was calling her name.  
  
"Kagome!" it cried in anguish. "Kagome!!" Slowly, she realized it was Inuyasha's voice. That it was Inuyasha holding her. That the village had not been shaking; Inuyasha had been shaking her. Sango and Miroku knelt beside her.  
  
"Kagome, what happened!?" Sango asked her earnestly. "For a moment, it looked like you were fading away! Inuyasha grabbed for you and you reappeared, but..."  
  
The schoolgirl gasped again, understanding what was going on. ~The power of the Shikon no tama brought me to Feudal Japan... and now that it's gone, I've used up the last of its power staying here! It can't support me anymore!!~ She jerked out of Inuyasha's grip and took off into the forest. ~I can't stay here any longer!!~  
  
"Kagome, wait!!" Inuyasha called and took off after her. He didn't have far to chase her, however, as she had tripped on a root and lay crying in the grass. Stopping next to her, he pulled her up from the ground quickly. She looked away, but he took her face in his hands and forced her to face him. He looked into her eyes and spoke.  
  
"Kagome, tell me what's going on," he demanded. "You've been acting strangely ever since we beat Naraku."  
  
Kagome stared at him, tears falling freely down her face. What was he saying? He was moving his lips, but no sound was coming out. She shook her head, trying to tell him she couldn't hear him. The only thing entering her ears was a loud train whistle.  
  
Inuyasha tried speaking again, but it was no use. Kagome didn't respond except to shake her head again. Then, it hit him. ~She can't hear me! It must have something to do her body fading!!~ Which it was starting to do again, he noticed in shock.  
  
Quickly, he reached for Kagome's shaking hand and held it firmly. He could feel something happening, something that felt very final. He pressed the hand to his heart. Then, feel tears pricking his own eyes, he mouthed, "I love you," and kissed her. He clutched her tightly to him, letting the tears fall.  
  
After a minute, Kagome felt him pull away and release her. She opened her eyes slowly to look at him again. He hadn't pulled away.  
  
He was gone.  
  
The forest was gone.  
  
Feudal Japan was gone.  
  
Crying out in agony, Kagome broke down and fell to her knees on the pavement she stood. Wrapping her arms around herself as if to try and replicate the embrace that ended too soon, she doubled over and sobbed until nightfall.  
  
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*cries along with Kagome*  
  
Kagome: *sniffles loudly, grabbing a box of Kleenex* I know why I'm crying... but why are you joining in?  
  
*steals one of the Kleenex* 'Cause I didn't do Druihd's fabulous art justice... *blows her nose* And I got impatient and posted this before Druihd had a chance to read it over. So I dunno if it'll be ok!!!  
  
Miroku: So where is Inuyasha?  
  
*stops crying* Oh, he's busy looking at some other pics of Druihd's. *points*  
  
Inuyasha: *appears captivated by one pic of himself sitting by a waterfall, his reflection is of him as a human, though he's in his normal form* ... ... ...  
  
Miroku: *blinks* ...that's strange. Inuyasha's not... yelling at you...  
  
I know! Isn't it great? *grins* Thank you much Druihd, I hope you like it!! Really I do, and keep up your insanely good fanart!!  
  
Please review! And remember, this IS a one-shot! Please don't ask for another chapter, as I have absolutely nowhere to go after this. Thanks! See you next fic! ^ ^ 


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